Battelle Cancer Research Initiative

Answering the Call to End Cancer

Defeating cancer is among the most complex and ambitious goals mankind has ever attempted, and no one is better equipped to rise to the challenge than Battelle.

Our Experience

Battelle is a trusted collaborator for complex public health initiatives for the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and National Institutes of Health (NIH) – to name a few. For our clients in the medical device and pharmaceutical industry, we have extensive experience in helping bring new vaccines, therapies, diagnostics and drug-delivery devices to market.

Our Efforts

Repository ManagementBattelle provides ongoing oversight and management for CASPIR, the largest repository of biological specimens in the U.S. A joint project for the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), the biological library holds more than 6 million individual samples, including blood, urine, tissue and DNA, many of them unique in the world.

Biomarker IdentificationBattelle oversees the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Clinical Proteome Characterization Center, part of the network of Protein Characterization Centers working to identify proteins and peptides in the blood or other fluids that act as biomarkers for tumors. Our team is working on systematic discovery and verification of protein biomarkers that can be qualified in clinical studies, using the cancer specimens and associated data provided by the CPTC.

Cervical Cancer Detection and PreventionWe are working with CDC and state-based cancer registries to understand the screening and care histories of women diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer in order to identify facilitators and barriers to the receipt of routine screening and treatment of cervical neoplasia prior to invasion. Another study with CDC examined knowledge, attitudes and beliefs related to Pap and HPV testing among underserved patients and their providers. Battelle developed the ThinPrep® Pap Test, an automated diagnostic tool that screens slides for cervical cancer cells.

Detecting Cancer Cells in Body Fluids

Battelle developed the technology behind Rarecyte, a novel cell-isolation device that enables scientists to quickly identify and study tumor cells, including cancer cells, circulating in the blood.